Content
Basically, it’s a part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines. As an average internet user, you won’t come across the dark web since you need a special browser to access it. It’s certainly not something you need to stress about in your day-to-day browsing, and you shouldn’t let it scare you off the internet.
If you think you are completely anonymous though, think again. Law enforcement routinely shuts down and prosecutes sites and people doing illegal things on the Dark Web. Note that bits and pieces of the data out of the Deep Web may be picked up by search engines in the case of a data breach or targeted attack.
Dark Market Sites
There are several websites which analyze and monitor the deep web and dark web for threat intelligence. A February 2016 study from researchers at King’s College London gives the following breakdown of content by an alternative category set, highlighting the illicit use of .onion services. Threat intelligence platforms to analyze the threat data gathered from the dark web also enables organizations to defend themselves against attacks more effectively. Software as a service solutions, paid news websites, and streaming services. From the login page of internet service providers to email mailbox or even social media profiles, are a part of the deep web. Many websites on the deep web avoid showing up in search engine results by blocking the bots that ‘crawl’ the internet to collect information for search engine indexes.
Tor users in the USA in particular may want to use a VPN, which will be faster and more reliable. Officially, the Tor Browser is only available on Windows, Mac, Android and Linux. Many experts advise against using third-party mobile browsers that utilize the Tor Network. No one knows who anyone else is in the real world, so long as they take the necessary precautions. Users’ identities are safe from the prying eyes of governments and corporations.
Can I use a free VPN to access the dark web?
It is technically not illegal to access the dark web through the Tor browser. The United States government and military partially fund the search engine and in order to share information and protect their agents and informants. It is also seen as a right to privacy and encryption, as well as a safe space for journalists and whistleblowers.
Virtual Private Networks are services that provide secure servers that enable private web access. These servers disguise your location and may impersonate sites from all over the world. Not only is the amount of information on the deep and dark web related to cybercrime, but there is also enough information to reflect the criminal intent to employ cybersecurity experts around the clock. The information people access on the Surface Web is nothing compared to the information available on the Dark Web.
Browse Dark Web
The Dark Web is a part of the World Wide Web that resides on darknets, which are Internet-based overlay networks that require special software, settings, or authorization to access. Private computer networks can interact and do business anonymously on the Dark Web without revealing identifying information like a user’s location. The deep web contains the web content that is not accessible to search engines. For example, banking information, government confidential data, data present on clouds, etc.
- The Invisible Internet Project—This web browser and private network layer was designed to help people in oppressive regimes avoid Net censorship.
- Secondly, if Facebook is blocked in your location, you can use the dark web Facebook mirror to circumvent the censorship.
- With this knowledge, you can continue to browse online with confidence.
- This is as simple and user friendly as downloading any other legitimate program.
This part of the web comprises web pages that are indexed by web crawlers, meaning they appear in the search results of mainstream search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. These pages can be accessed by every internet user without any real restrictions. Around 4% of all content online is indexed, or in other words, can be accessed through search engines. The other 96% consists of content that is not indexed, most commonly known as the deep web, which has another, smaller, deeper layer – called the dark web, or the darknet. The Dark Web refers to a small sliver of the web that is impossible to access without special software and links. That’s not to say that the entire deep web consists of these difficult-to-find websites.
How to access the Deep web?
As the threat of identity theft is ever present, concerns about the dark web are certainly founded. Make sure you do not make any contact with ANYONE on the deep web so you do not have this issue. Have a VPN and antivirus protection software on hand so you can keep yourself safe from hacks. If possible, use an old computer you don’t mind getting messed up and make sure it is running Mac or Linux, so it is less likely to get viruses. Much of the Dark Web’s illegal content is based around things like human trafficking, illicit drug and firearm sales, and so on.
